CLARK FREEPORT—Airline pilot training school operator Alpha Aviation Group (AAG) Philippines Inc. is expanding its simulator training capability as it plans to buy and install a brand-new Airbus A320 full flight simulator (FFS).
Cristopher Magdangal, AAG regional director for Asia Pacific, said the expansion and acquisition will be undertaken through a $9-million financing agreement with the Bank of the Philippine Islands and BPI Century Tokyo Lease and Finance Corp. The loan will bridge the acquisition of the A320 FFS from Flight Safety International—a Warren Buffet company—and the $1-million simulator training center expansion, he added.
BPI Century Tokyo has also previously funded AAG’s acquisition of six Cessna 172S G1000 basic flight trainer aircrafts and one A320 Integrated Procedure Trainer. FSI has more than 300 flight simulators in 167 countries, documents provided by, Magdangal said.
AAG’s new flight simulator will be ready for training by 2019 and comes with a full “Upset Prevention and Recovery Training” or UPRT capability and with the A320 new engine and current engine options. The new FFS will bring AAG’s current fleet of flight simulation training devices to a total of six, making it the largest in the country.
The simulator training center extension building is designed to house four simulator bays and amenities.
Headquartered in United Kingdom, AAG serves the domestic and Southeast Asian market from the Philippines and the Middle East region from its base in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Every year, AAG train hundreds of new pilots for its airline partners. AAG is currently training more than 300 pilots and most of its more than 800 graduates are now flying with leading regional airlines including Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Air Asia Philippines, among others. The launching of the brandnew flight simulator was made simultaneously with the groundbreaking of the training center at the AAG premisses here on Wednesday.